SOLUTION: A vendor sells hot dogs and bags of potato chips. A customer buys 5 hot dogs and 3 bags of potato chips for $17.00. Another customer buys 3 hot dogs and 2 bags of potato chips fo

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Question 241631: A vendor sells hot dogs and bags of potato chips. A customer buys 5 hot dogs and 3 bags of potato chips for $17.00. Another customer buys 3 hot dogs and 2 bags of potato chips for $10.50. Find the cost of each item.
Answer by stanbon(75887) About Me  (Show Source):
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A vendor sells hot dogs and bags of potato chips. A customer buys 5 hot dogs and 3 bags of potato chips for $17.00. Another customer buys 3 hot dogs and 2 bags of potato chips for $10.50. Find the cost of each item.
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Equations:
5h + 3p = 17
3h + 2p = 10.5
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Multiply thru the 1st by 3
Multiply thru the 2nd by 5
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15h + 9p = 51
15h + 10p = 52.5
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Subtract 1st from 2nd and solve for "p":
p = $1.50 (cost of a bag of potato chips)
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Substitute into 5h+3p=17 to solve for "h":
5h + 3(1.5) = 17
5h = 12.5
h = $2.50 (cost of a hot dog)
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Cheers,
Stan H.